From: UfmccHq@aol.com
Date: Wed, 10 Nov 1999 16:44:41 EST
Subject: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Soulforce Press Release: November 8, 1999
CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE PLANNED FOR THE TRIAL OF JIMMY CREECH
The following letter to bishops of the United Methodist Church regarding the
trial of Jimmy Creech, Nov. 16-18, 1999, in Grand Island, Nebraska, explains
the nonviolent direct action by the people of Soulforce "to prevent" that
trial from taking place.
Media are invited to be present at the trial and at all Soulforce nonviolent
trainings and events during and preceeding the trial. Your press credentials
will give you entree to all Soulforce events.
The Soulforce Schedule for the Trial of Jimmy Creech, November 16-18, 1999
Tuesday, November 16, 1999 Midtown Holiday Inn, Grand Island, NE
308-384-1330 2503 South Locust, Grand Island, NE.
4-6PM Advanced training in nonviolent response for Soulforce
delegates.
6 PM Deli buffet for delegates & media (good time for individual
interviews).
7 PM The Holy Union & Vow Rededication Celebration by Jimmy Creec
h.
8 PM The Press Conference with Jimmy Creech and Guests.
9 PM The 24 hour Soulforce candlelight vigil begins at the trial
site.
Trinity United Methodist 511 N. Elm Street 308
382-1952
Wednesday, November 17, 1999 Trinity United Methodist Church (Trial Site)
7 AM All night vigil continues...Full Soulforce delegation
assembles.
8 or 9 AM Although the bishops have not announced the hour the trial will
begin, we
expect it to start by 9 or 10 AM at the latest. One hour
before the trial
begins we will launch our hour-long civil disobedience
with approximately
100 arrests anticipated.
10AM - (Until the trial ends) We will continue our round-the-clock
vigil on the
steps of the trial site, Trinity United Methodist Church.
When the trial is adjourned, if Jimmy Creech is convicted, we will carry out
our final Soulforce direct action, the silent candlelight procession
carrying the candle of the Holy Spirit from the United Methodist Church.
Jimmy Creech will address the media immediately at the close of his trial.
For background and interest interviews:
The Rev. Jimmy Creech
Contact Laura Montgomery Rutt: (717) 627-7180
In Grand Island at the Best Western (308) 384-5150
Cell Phone in Grand Island: (949) 233-3592
Email: LMRutt@aol.com
Dr. Mel White, Co-Founder, Soulforce, Inc. (949) 455-0999
In Grand Island (from 11/14) Midtown Holiday Inn (308)
384-1330
Cell Phone in Grand Island: (949) 933-3592
Email: <> or <>
Fax: 949-455-0959 www.soulforce.org
To find and interview Soulforce delegates from your area, contact
Laura Montgomery Rutt at LMRutt@aol.com
Chief Kyle Hetrick, Grand Island Police Chief (308) 385-5400
Rev. Jim Keyser, Pastor Trinity UMC (308) 382-1952
Mayor Ken Gnadt (308) 385-5444 (Extension #4)
OK to Copy, Forward, or Publish the Following Letter Without Permission
A Soulforce Open Letter II
To: Bishops Grove and Martinez
The Jury Pool and All Trial Participants
All Clergy and Laity of the United Methodist Church
Re: The Trial of Jimmy Creech
Grand Island, Nebraska, Nov. 17-18, 1999
Date: November 7, 1999
Brothers and Sisters, Greetings,
OK to Copy, Forward, or Publish Without Permission
A Soulforce Open Letter
To: Bishops Grove and Martinez
The Jury Pool and All Trial Participants
All Clergy and Laity of the United Methodist Church
Re: The Trial of Jimmy Creech
Grand Island, Nebraska, Nov. 17-18, 1999
Date: November 7, 1999
Brothers and Sisters, Greetings,
There are rumors circulating on the Internet that our Soulforce delegation is
coming to Grand Island "to disrupt" or even "to prevent" the trial of Jimmy
Creech. I'm sorry that my own ill-chosen words helped launch those rumors.
Let me try to explain our Soulforce mission more clearly.
Please understand at the outset that every Soulforce delegate has signed a
pledge against violence, as Dr. King would say, "of the heart, the tongue,
and the fist." For us "to disrupt" or "to prevent" the trial would be an act
of violence. You can trust our Soulforce delegates to be loving and
respectful even when we disagree with you. We are sisters and brothers,
children of the same Creator. Like you, we are people of faith. Many of us
are United Methodists. Reconciliation is our only goal. You do not need to
fear our presence in any way.
It is equally true that we do not want this second trial of Jimmy Creech to
take place. That choice, however, is yours, not ours. And though you have
no legal authority from the United Methodist Church "to prevent" the trial,
you have the moral authority "to prevent" it by refusing to walk up those
eleven steps into the sanctuary of the Trinity UMC. We know this would take
an act of moral courage, the same kind of courage Jimmy Creech has shown, and
we beg you to consider it.
You may sincerely believe that this trial is a private affair between Jimmy
Creech and the United Methodist Church. Because of a recent ruling of your
Judicial Council, in co-officiating in the Holy Union of a gay couple, Jimmy
Creech has committed a chargeable offense. We assume that you would prefer
not to judge a colleague for his act of conscience, but you feel responsible
as a member of the UMC to do your duty if even it is unpleasant.
Consider another possibility. Could it be that refusing to participate in
this trial is that rare opportunity for you to perform your own historic act
of conscience? Gandhi says "it is as much our moral obligation to refuse to
cooperate with evil as it is to cooperate with good." Jimmy Creech has
broken an unjust law. Could it be possible that by trying Jimmy you are
aiding and abetting the evil consequences of that unjust law and that by
refusing to try him you would be taking an historic stand for justice?
We believe that the trial is an act of violence against all God's lesbian,
gay, bisexual, and transgendered children. We also see the trial as an act
of spiritual violence against Jimmy Creech and all other UMC ministers who
are persuaded by their conscience to add their blessing to the same-gender
relationships that God has already blessed. You don't mean to participate in
an "act of violence." And I may fail in this attempt to explain why your
decision to try Jimmy Creech will have violent consequences in the lives of
my sisters and brothers, but I must try.
I'm sure you felt anger and grief when you saw pictures of Fred Phelps
carrying his "GOD HATES FAGS" sign at the funeral of Matthew Shepard. For
Phelps to misrepresent God and the Scriptures to support his own bigotry was
clearly an act of spiritual violence. And though your motives are entirely
different from Fred Phelps we are convinced that this trial is just another
"GOD HATES FAGS" sign that the media will broadcast to the nation. Only this
time, the sign is not carried by an obviously disturbed man but by the United
Methodist Church, an historic, well-respected denomination with a history of
social concern. Few people are confused when Phelps carries the sign. You
risk confusing millions when that sign is in your hands.
Whatever your verdict, this trial will declare that you believe that our
loving, faithful, same-gender relationships are condemned by God and by the
United Methodist Church. Therefore, the heterosexual majority looking on will
conclude that our loving, faithful, same-gender relationships should also be
condemned by our friends and families, our pastors, deacons, and elders, by
our employers and landlords, and by drunken thugs carrying baseball bats,
knives, and guns.
Whatever your verdict, the trial will declare to America's gay and lesbian
minority that you believe that the love we feel for each other is sick and
sinful; that what seems natural to us is unnatural in God's eyes; that we
should hide our relationships or forfeit them altogether; and that we should
attempt instead to satisfy our God-given need for same-gender intimacy and
affection through occasional promiscuous sex rather than loving, committed
relationships.
Worse, though you don't mean to say it, this trial will reinforce the
terrible untruth that God doesn't love the GLBT individuals that God has
created. That message cripples the souls of our sisters and brothers and
plunges all too many of them into years of self-hatred, worthless
"reparative" therapies, loneliness, suffering, and even death. Or it causes
many others to leave the church, give up their faith, and end their spiritual
journeys altogether.
Whatever your verdict, this trial will declare that people like Jimmy Creech
who believe that our loving, committed relationships are ordained and blessed
by God are no longer welcome in the United Methodist Church. And it will
make unmistakably clear that gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people
of faith, as well as our friends and families are not really welcome either.
To help prevent these acts of spiritual violence, we are hoping and praying
that just one of you (if not all of you) will refuse to walk up those steps
on Wednesday morning, November 17, 1999. We will continue to respect you and
consider you our brothers and sisters if you decide that we are wrong (and we
might be). We certainly will not prevent you from entering Trinity UMC if
you decide against us. But, in our sincere effort to help you re-examine
your decision one last time before walking through those doors into the
courtroom, our Soulforce delegation is drawing three lines in the sand (or
on the sidewalk) around the church on Fifth Avenue and Elm Street that you
must cross before you can start the trial.
The first line is invisible. It is the line that conscience draws around
Trinity UMC. What is your heart saying about this trial and your
participation in it? When you silence all of the conflicting voices
(including ours) what is the still small voice of God whispering to you about
the Trial of Jimmy Creech? If you have any doubt about entering that
sanctuary turned tribunal, don't do it. As a member and employee of the
United Methodist Church you are responsible to perform faithfully the tasks
assigned you, but in Christ you are urged to place the authority of the Holy
Spirit above all earthly powers. Have you heard God's voice in this matter?
If God has told you to try Jimmy Creech then we will not stand in your way;
but if you decide that the Holy Spirit is leading you to support Jimmy in his
stand for sexual minorities and against this act of spiritual violence, then
do not cross the line.
The second line is also invisible. It is the line that the Christian
community draws around Trinity UMC. There are literally thousands of loyal
UMC members praying for you. There are tens of thousands of GLBT people of
faith and our friends and families who are praying that you will not try
Jimmy Creech. Do you know anyone who is praying that this trial will take
place?
Those who are praying that the trial won't take place have at least three
concerns. First, we are concerned about the present and what this trial will
say to the watching world about Christ and His body the church (let alone
about the UMC). Second, we are concerned that you are ignoring lessons
learned from the past that organized religion has placed on trial all the
wrong people and lived to regret it. Third, we are concerned that you are
ignoring the future, what history will say about this trial when the UMC
finally realizes that same-sex orientation is another mysterious gift from
God to be accepted, celebrated, and lived with integrity. If you have
considered the past, the present, and the future implications of this trial
and still decide to try Jimmy Creech, we will not stand in your way; but if
you decide that you cannot add your name to this historic event, then do not
cross the line.
The third invisible line is the line that Christ draws around Trinity UMC.
We all agree that He is risen and among us, but where will He be standing on
Wednesday morning, Nov. 17? We picture him standing outside Trinity UMC with
us. Where do you picture him? Would he enter those doors to place Jimmy
Creech on trial? Or would he be outside protesting this event? Jesus was
violent just once in His life when he drove the moneychangers from the
temple. To Jesus, God's house was a house of prayer for the outcasts. His
dream was and is the same for your church and for mine. Would He use that
sacred space that was ordained as a place of prayer for the outcast to try
Jimmy Creech, the outcast's friend? It's very popular these days to ask "What
would Jesus do?" It's a lot harder to do it.
Because we are convinced that Jesus would not enter Trinity UMC to place
Jimmy Creech on trial for blessing a relationship that God has already
blessed, we are going to make visible with our bodies that line that Jesus
draws.
On Tuesday evening, November 16, at 7PM at the Holiday Inn on Locust in Grand
Island, Nebraska, we are going to experience the exact same Holy Union that
has led to this tragic and traumatic trial. Our "renewal of vows as a
witness" will be co-officiated by the Rev. Jimmy Creech and will include the
same two gay men who took their vows that night, the same liturgy and music,
even the same flowers and unity candle. You are invited to see for yourself
what Jimmy Creech has done. Wouldn't seeing that Holy Union service help you
know whether or not your law is just and whether or not enforcing the law an
act of justice? We are inviting the media to be present as well.
Unfortunately, we will be holding this sacred service in a banquet room
because no church in Grand Island would give us sanctuary for this event.
After that Holy Union service, our Soulforce delegation is moving to those
same eleven steps that you must climb to try Jimmy Creech. To show our
genuine concern that this trial must not take place, we will hold a
candlelight worship and vigil on the steps. Then in shifts, we will continue
that vigil of concern throughout the entire night.
On Wednesday morning, November 17, as the sun rises, the entire Soulforce
delegation will gather on the steps again to make visible the line we feel
that Jesus has drawn. Exactly one hour before the trial is scheduled to
begin two of our delegates will lock arms at the bottom of the stairway. The
Chief of Police in Grand Island has advised that after locking their arms for
one minute blocking the entrance symbolically (there will still be room for
you to pass), that couple will be arrested. Immediately, another couple will
take their place.
For one hour the symbolic civil disobedience and the arrests will continue.
Our Soulforce action will be in total silence. We respect your decision
either way and will not shame, coerce, or intimidate you if you make your way
up the stairs. However, if you lock arms with us in our symbolic act and
refuse to take those eleven steps into history, we will celebrate your
courage and bless your name.
You may join us in being arrested or just join the line of those who stand
with us in solidarity. A city official will issue a $48 fine. Once you've
paid your fine, you will be released on the spot. There will be no trip to
jail. The arrest will not appear on any official record but the record you
carry in your heart. After you have paid your fine, please join us for our
continuing vigil on the steps.
If the trial is convened we will continue our candlelight vigil until it is
adjourned. If Jimmy Creech is found guilty, our last Soulforce act, will be
to put on black armbands that demonstrate our grief and signal a period of
mourning for the United Methodist Church. We will pray one last prayer that
truth will finally conquer untruth in your midst. Then we will carry our
candles from Trinity United Methodist Church in a slow, silent procession
that symbolizes to us the Holy Spirit's departure from that place. How can
Christ remain where any of God's children are no longer welcome? And though
we would grieve the departure of the Holy Spirit from the United Methodist
Church, we would also clearly demonstrate not resignation but resolve to
continue to work for full acceptance by the UMC of God's lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgendered children and for your blessing of our gay and
lesbian relationships.
One last time we beg you to exercise your individual moral right to help us
prevent this trial. Lock arms with us. Be arrested or stand in solidarity
with us. Write your check for bail. Save the cancelled check. And one day
when the United Methodist Church discovers what science, history, and
personal experience have already taught us that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgendered people are God's children, too; one day when the UMC can
celebrate with us our love for each other and God's blessing on that love;
one day when we are welcomed home to the churches of our childhood and
granted all the sacraments of the church once again, you can take out that
cancelled check and show it to your lesbian granddaughter or gay grandson and
say proudly, "I'm glad I didn't go up those steps." We are betting our
souls on the fact that one day, Christ himself will answer, "I'm glad, too."